


Where Did Everyone Go?

by TheDumbestAvenger



Series: Whumptober 2020 [8]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Captivity, Gen, Isolation, Peter Parker Whump, Protective Tony Stark, Scared Peter Parker, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Whumptober 2020, with a little bit of comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:20:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26891314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDumbestAvenger/pseuds/TheDumbestAvenger
Summary: Peter’s been trapped in this room for how long? He doesn’t know. Everything’s the same. All he knows is white.Whumptober ChallengeDay 8 - Prompt "Where Did Everyone Go?" - Isolation
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Whumptober 2020 [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1946023
Comments: 12
Kudos: 97
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	Where Did Everyone Go?

**Author's Note:**

> Day 8!
> 
> I wrote this fic, then immediately re-wrote it because the first draft was wonky but the idea was there. Hope you enjoy!
> 
> *Warnings*  
> Captivity

He didn’t know how long he’d been trapped in this infernal room. A few hours was his best guess, though Peter couldn’t be sure how many exactly. Long enough for him to scream his throat raw and scour every inch of the blindingly white walls, floor, and ceiling for an escape. Even just a crack or blemish would be good enough at this point. Nothing. Just white. Pure, blinding white.

He was going to go insane. Everywhere he looked hurt his eyes. All six surfaces of his prison looked identical, he could only tell which way was up by the direction his hair fell. It was perfectly maddening. No sounds from outside penetrated the walls, leaving Peter utterly alone with his erratic heartbeat, ragged breaths, and racing thoughts.

He punched the walls until his knuckles bled and left a smear of crimson cutting through the white. Somehow, it only made it worse.

* * *

It had to have been a day,  _ surely _ a day must have passed in this cage. Peter couldn’t sleep, one, because everything was  _ so damn bright _ . And two, in case something changed and he missed it. In case a door opened, the lights dimmed, something made a noise.  _ Anything. _ Because something would happen. It had to. It couldn’t stay the same forever. It  _ couldn’t. _

He huddled in a corner, legs hugged to his chest and resting his head against the wall to the side. Waiting. Hoping. Closing his eyes proved to be dangerous; each time he did, opening them only became more challenging. Only used more of his dwindling strength to continue his futile lookout.

_ Nothing was going to happen. _

In addition, Peter hadn’t had anything to eat or drink the entire time. He’d heard the whole ‘you can live three days without water’ thing, didn’t know if it was true or not. But it lost all meaning when time ceased to exist. Dehydration didn’t seem to care, though.

He couldn’t stand without getting dizzy, even curled up in his corner he felt incredibly lightheaded. Already, his mouth dried out and lips crack from lack of moisture. God how he regretted all the tears he’d shed since waking up in this hell.

Vaguely, he realised that to be this bad, he must have been more than a day without nutrition. He didn’t know anymore, time meant nothing.

His stomach gave a loud growl, and Peter doubled over as a stabbing pain in his abdomen accompanied the sound. He curled tighter into a ball, fighting through the pain as he waited for it to pass. “Come on, Spider-Man,” he muttered. His voice dry and gravelly, emotionless.

_ “Come on, Spider-Man,” _ a familiar voice whispered back.

Peter forced his head up and opened his eyes. Before him, stood Tony Stark. Blurred around the edges and oddly shiny, see-through, even. “...Mister Stark?”

_ “It’s me.” _ Tony’s voice held an airy, light quality that absolutely hadn’t been there before the room. Peter knew it wasn’t Tony, not  _ his _ Tony, but wanted so desperately for it to be that he allowed himself to pretend.

“How?” Peter pushed himself to his feet, leaning heavily against the wall as his head span. “There’s- There’s no door…?”

_ “You’re so strong. Hold on. Just stay strong a little longer.” _ Tony pressed a hand over his heart.  _ “For May, for Ned and MJ, for me. Stay strong.” _

“I-I can’t,” Peter stuttered. He cursed the tears threatening to fall from his eyes, a water of precious water. “Mister Stark, I can’t do it!”

_ “Yes,” _ Tony’s voice sounded distant, and the blinding white seemed to be taking over his body.  _ “You can, I believe in you.” _

“No! Please, don’t leave me!” Peter lunged forward to grab hold of Tony, to force him to stay no matter how selfish that would be. He couldn’t be alone anymore. But Tony vanished, and Peter landed face down in the door, too tired even to feel the pain of falling.

* * *

Peter hadn’t moved; he didn’t have the energy even if he’d wanted to. Every muscle in his body screamed out for food and water, his thoughts a mixed mess and nothing and everything at the same time. Logically, he knew Tony had never been there, that his dehydrated, sleep-deprived brain was only playing a cruel trick, but his absence only made him feel more alone.

He could have been there for hours, could have only been a couple of minutes. Peter didn’t have the strength to care anymore.

He closed his eyes, feeling himself being pulled under. Felt life slipping away from beneath him. His ears decided to join in the tricks, filling his head with phantom sounds and ghostly voices. He ignored them all; they weren’t real anyway. He knew that.

Numbly, he heard an explosion and felt small chunks of rubble falling on his back. Then a face appeared in front of his, crouched down on the floor beside him. This one didn’t have the same blurriness as before. It reached out and squeezed Peter’s shoulder, gently manoeuvring him into its arms and holding him close.

“Kid?”

**Author's Note:**

> You know, for a while I thought about having Hallucination Tony be evil to add to the angst, but as he's from Peter perspective that seemed wrong... (so I've saved evil Tony for a different fic *laughs maniacally*)
> 
> I know this trope has been done a bajillion different ways, but I wanted to try my hand at it :D Also, I've ended up starting another long Whumptober fic which I'll hopefully finish today and I'M SO EXCITED TO SHARE IT WITH Y'ALL!!
> 
> Every kudos and comment is greatly appreciated <3 and if you wanted to come and yell at me (and maybe see a sneak peek at some upcoming projects) my tumblr is thedumbestavenger :D


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